Pearman House at the National Society for Epilepsy

This is a villa designed as accommodation for people with epilepsy, originally intended for children. It was built between 1896 and 1898 to the designs of either Maurice B. Adams or E.C. Shearman.

The building is constructed of brick on an ashlar plinth, with a rendered first floor and tile-hung gables. It has a large tiled roof that sweeps low over the central two-storey range to meet the roofs over the single-storey wings on either side. Pearman House is a good example of the layout found at the Chalfont Centre, with a central two-storey range containing communal living areas on the ground floor and staff accommodation above. Single-storey wings to either side originally housed dormitories, and a service range is located to the rear, with later extensions. Ground floor sash windows are set within arched surrounds, and feature a central stone oriel. Some first-floor windows have been replaced with uPVC. Small side doors exist; one has been converted into a window, and the other has a timber door sheltered by a simple hood.

The Chalfont colony was founded in 1894 to provide a healthy village-like environment for people with epilepsy. It was innovative in creating a village community for patients with mental health conditions, a model later adopted by other epilepsy hospitals and institutions serving other conditions. Pearman House, along with Milton House and Greene House, stands on slightly higher ground within the village and forms a visually strong group. The buildings at the Chalfont Centre are significant both for their historical importance in the treatment of epilepsy and as examples of Arts and Crafts architecture designed to create a domestic atmosphere within an institutional setting, despite later alterations.